The 'Thing'
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: Luke and LorELAI aren't together yet, of course. This is ME after all. Just a good old story of jealousy which translates into...well, i'm not going to just give it away. Note M rating!


Disclaimer: I wrote this story, and that is all. The characters in it were created by someone else. I'm just trying to do with them what Rosenthal will not.

**A/N**: It is I again. I just can't stay away. In actuality, I keep getting these ideas and then I start to type it or write it, then it eats at me until I get it out to you guys. Nobody likes to be eaten, so--wait, wait, let me rephrase that 'cause that would be what we call a LIE. Nobody likes to be smothered with an idea (better) so the result is like 2-3 stories a month. It's crazy, I know. Okay, here's the premise. It's season 4. Nicole never happened. I didn't care for her anyway, so no loss there. Jason never happened. I actually liked Jason. He was funny. Doesn't matter 'cause he still didn't happen. Rory's in college. Dating? I don't know. Use your imagination 'cause mine didn't venture over to her storyline. Luke and Lorelai aren't together yet, but let me see what I can do about that...Read, please.

**The 'Thing'**

Usually a night of insomnia would be taken full advantage of. If there was ever a night that Lorelai could not get to sleep, she'd view the time as extra hours in the day. Not that it'd get used up appropriately--doing things for the Inn, etc. Oh, no, no, no! Instead, she'd watch Humphrey Bogart's rejection for the 1000th time. She'd watch the step-by-step process of making delicious chocolate treats on the Food Network while pretending she actually cared about the step-by-step process. She'd watch infomercials for things the average person would normally have no desire for, but somehow finds so very necessary at 3 in the morning.

As she lay in her bed, she found herself becoming annoyed and frustrated at her inability to sleep. Closing her eyes tightly and trying to coax her body into unconsciousness wasn't working. But she knew she had to sleep. Tomorrow would be such a jam-packed, important day at her soon-to-be-open inn that she knew she should get as much shut-eye as possible. If only her mind could just flip off for two seconds.

She slowly turned her head toward her alarm clock, knowing it'd only show another lost half hour. It read 5:17am. She had gone to bed at 11pm and could mentally account for five of the past six hours or so.

Lorelai released a heavy exhale and sat up in her bed. She looked toward the window and noticed the daylight that was beginning it ascent.

"Up with the roosters," she muttered as she climbed out of bed. She figured it'd be hard to get up at her scheduled time of 7:30am, and here she was--up before 6. _'This will definitely make the record books'_, she thought.

For the first time ever, she'd be able to take advantage of Luke's early morning diner hours. That thought, alone, made her smile. Coffee and blueberry pancakes would make up for every sleepless second.

Thinking back to the morning she and Rory had come in Luke's post the Dean breakup part I, Lorelai wasn't surprised to see wall to wall customers in the diner.

"Mornin', Suga," Babbette directed toward her as soon as she came in.

"Hi, Babbette. Why are you up so early?"

"Well, Apricot has been acting a little distant with Morey lately on account of Morey steppin on her little tail two days ago." Lorelai nodded sympathetically. "Well, this morning, Morey went to get her some milk. It helps to keep her movin'," she added leaning in. Again, Lorelai nodded, but in an 'okay, moving past that' kind of way. Babbette continued. "When he went to put the milk down, she ran right over to 'im and even rubbed against his leg a little. So, I snuck out the side door so they could be alone. Didn't want to interrupt the making up moment."

"Oh. Well, that's good," Lorelai said pretending not to be weirded out at all. She placed a hand on Babbette's shoulder. "You're very thoughtful, Babbette."

"I try to be, ya know?" She said in her scratchy, yet soothing voice. "People seem to respond to it." She turned her attention to a man who had just sat down. "Hey, hey! I've been waitin' to sit for 10 minutes. Move it or lose it, Sweet Tush." The man got up quickly and directed Babbette into the chair.

Lorelai smiled at Babbette's sudden contradiction before saying, "I'll see you later, Babbette."

"Yeah, yeah, you too, Suga," she replied waving her away, having taken more interest in the man's eye level rear.

Lorelai squeezed her way to the counter and yelled to Lane over the loud chatter. "Lane, is that Luke's coffee?!" She didn't see him around anywhere.

Lane followed her outstretched finger to the coffee pot. "No, I made it. Luke had me open today. He hasn't come down yet. What time do you have?" She asked.

Lorelai glanced down at her watch. "6:40, why?"

"He should be down in about an hour," she yelled back. "Coffee?"

Lorelai went back and forth in her head, finally landing on 'no'. She was in desperate need of _Luke's_ coffee. "No thanks, Sweetie." Lane smiled and turned back to the many customers that lined the counter.

Lorelai kind of fell back and started to scan the diner restlessly. _'You can wait one hour'_, she told herself. "What's one hour?" she said aloud to no one. A woman turned to look at her, thinking that she was talking to her. "Sorry," Lorelai said holding up a hand, "thought kind of got away from me, there." She chuckled at her own joke. The woman just raised her eyebrows and turned away, subtley moving away from Lorelai a couple of inches. "Apparently I'm right on schedule with the _crazy_," Lorelai said low. She looked impatiently down to her watch and watched as the seconds ticked away. "Oh, who am I kidding?" She said loudly as she made her way toward the staircase.

She started to slowly climb, practicing what she'd say once he opened the door. "_Luke, I am only up here because your coffee is the only brew that gives me that wonderful coffee high. You should blame yourself, really because_...no, probably shouldn't go that route. _I'm sorry to wake you. I know how it feels to be disturbed when you're_---" She had made it to the top of the stairs and fell quiet when she heard noise on the other side of the door. Recognizing instantly what she was hearing, she froze in place. "...when you're having sex," she finished hesitantly.

Everything in her was telling her to turn around and run away. This was obviously none of her business. Her feet would not move, though.

Loud, LOUD moaning was coming from some unrecognizable female.

Lorelai's mouth opened and moved as if she was attempting to speak--to whom was anyone's guess. The way she was standing there, an outsider would probably think she was a woman who'd just come to her boyfriend's house and heard him on the other side with someone who definitely was not her. Her mind was now screaming for her to leave the vicinity, but something---shock?---kept her rooted. True glutton for punishment.

"So fucking deep. Oh, my god!" The female voice said loudly. Then, she yelled out Luke's name, following the outburst with short screams.

A male, whose timbre could be heard above anything else, started to speak. Then, the woman laughed huskily before saying much more audibly than him, "Sorry, I'll try to be quiet." This is the point when Luke must have began movement because the woman screamed an unexpected, "Oh, shit, Luke!" before the headboard loudly slapped the wall.

A loud crash resonated up the stairs from the diner's kitchen. This snapped Lorelai back to awareness, giving her back her power of mobility. She looked around nervously before circling the small area like it was an unfamiliar maze. She stopped, collected herself, turned the RIGHT way, and made her way down the stairs.

When she made it down there, she moved quickly through the crowd of people. Upon reaching the door, she opened it and shut it tightly behind herself, leaving behind the unfamiliar morning madness.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Please feel free not to anzwer zis, but you have been standing here for zirty meenutes wizout speaking. Your silence iz eerie. Iz somezing wrong?"

"Michel," Lorelai said looking up from the floor, "No offense, but why would I want to confide in you? You're not exactly known for your excellent conversational skills."

"Forget it!" he said angrily. "I try to be ceevil to you annnd Sookiee, and what do I git? I git mock-kuh'd. Day een, day out. I'm done!" He threw his hands up and headed past the crew of construction workers.

"What did I say?" Lorelai asked, glad that he was leaving her air space.

"What deed'ent you say?" He brought his hands down angrily to his sides "I am goeeng to git a wheat grass smoozie. I weel be back in an owah."

"Take your time, Michel," Lorelai said lightly. He gave her an evil look before walking out.

"What would we do without him?" Lorelai asked Sookie, who had come in in the middle of Michel's tirade.

"I don't know, but life would be so much more--"

"Tolerable?"

"I was going to say, 'calming', but that works, too," Sookie said with a giggle. She leaned against the wall next to Lorelai. "So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lorelai answered.

"Yeah," Sookie said slowly. "Something's definitely wrong because you're doing the thing."

"I am not doing 'the thing'," she defended. There was a short pause. "What 'thing'?"

"When something's bothering you, you take great interest in floorboards, wallpaper, paneling, tiles---building structures, in general, get a lot of your attention, sometimes for hours."

"I feel like I need a lawyer."

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"Sookie, we're opening an inn. There are like a hundred men around here fixing floorboards, installing tiles, and...doing things to all that other stuff you mentioned. I'm just inspecting their work, making sure everything's done correctly for our inn."

"So, what was your excuse before construction started on this place?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Sook."

Sookie took a moment to think. "When Christopher came to Stars Hollow for the first time--floorboard staring...when you needed money to get Rory into Chilton or when financial aid was denied for Yale---wallpaper dreams...when you and Luke stopped talking that summer---"

"Okay, you've made your point," Lorelai said calmly.

"Do you want to talk about whatever it is?"

"No," she replied softly. "Because honestly, I don't even know why I'm thinking about what I'm thinking about. I don't really know why it's bothering me. Not that it's bothering me," she added quickly. "But, it's kinda like a nagging weirdness, you know? It's like having this drawer and pulling it out and finding a, uh, secret bottom you didn't know it had. I mean, all of the other drawers have the bottom, but you never really thought of your drawer having this bottom. I mean, not that it's _my_ drawer. I'm not, like, claiming the drawer or anything," she said like Sookie was accusing her.

Sookie started to rub her arm soothingly. "Of course it's not your drawer, Honey. Hey, you want to go home and lay down? I can handle everything here."

"Great. Now, you think I'm going insane."

"I don't think you're insane. You just don't look like you got much sleep last night."

"I didn't. It's probably starting to catch up with me," She sighed. "I need coffee."

Sookie looked relieved. "Oh, is that all? Why don't you run to _Luke's_. I'll hold down the fort here.

Lorelai stared at her for a moment, lost in her thoughts. "What time is it?" She asked, forgetting about her own watch.

"About ten 'til one," Sookie answered.

Lorelai seemed satisfied with that answer. "Okay, that's good. Everything should be back to normal by now." Sookie looked at her blankly. "Be back in a little bit," Lorelai said.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

About eight people sat eating in the diner when Lorelai arrived. She walked up to the counter and took a seat. Luke was still nowhere around and Lorelai wondered briefly if he still hadn't come downstairs. Before she could entertain that possibility, he emerged from the kitchen.

"Hey," he said. "Surprised I'm just now seeing you."

"Yeah, I had to get to the inn, so I didn't have time to stop by," she lied.

He looked up at her. "Really?" She nodded. "Because Lane said you were here earlier."

Lorelai slapped her forehead thoughtfully. "Yeah, of course I was here. I stopped by to get, uh, uh--"

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee! Never thought that word would escape me." She laughed softly. "But it was so packed that I decided to come back later." She did a sweeping motion with her hand. "Well, it's later!"

He stared at her strange behavior. "Are you doin' okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a little too much enthusiasam. Bringing her voice back down to its normal tone, she added, "I'll be even finer with a pitcher of coffee in me."

"A _mug_ of coffee coming up," he told her. He turned to get her coffee.

Lorelai had no idea what she was expecting when she came into the diner. She did, however, think that things would be different. Maybe the diner would have moved an inch or two to the left. Maybe the food or coffee would taste _off_. Maybe Luke would act differently or look differently than he had prior to 'the wall hitting'.

But everything was the same. Nothing was out of place or different at all. Except for Lorelai's knowledge. Luke was having sex just six hours ago. And from the sounds his lady friend was making, he had to have been doing something right. Really...right. Lorelai knew that Luke was human, but more befitting, he was a man. Men have urges. Men have sex.

But to Lorelai, Luke had always been the anti-male. Though he wasn't lacking in the looks department, he never ogled beautiful women. He never lost his train of thought at the sight of a skin-bearing blonde. If ever Lorelai was around him and a breath-taking lady came into view, she'd automatically look to Luke to see what his reaction would be. He'd notice her, maybe give her a seconds' more attention than he'd give anyone else, but then he'd look away casually.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was heterosexual, but his reaction would always be the same. She had kind of admired him for that. Even though it seemed like he was playing it cool, it was obvious to anyone who knew him that that was just him. He was an understated guy, and that was the Luke Lorelai had grown accustomed to knowing.

She now felt foolish for thinking that Luke had no sexual desires. For thinking that he was some kind of a robot.

"Why are you staring at the wall like that?" Luke asked.

"Just, uh, admiring your, uh, spackling. Very nice."

He turned and looked at the spot that she'd been staring at so intently. He looked back to her. "Yeah, I can see the appeal," he agreed sarcastically.

The bell jingled above the diner's door and Luke looked toward the woman when his name was called. Lorelai did too.

"Luke," the lady said again. "Did I leave my bracelet here?" She smiled at Lorelai when she noticed her attention on her. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Loreali said back, turning back toward the counter. _'So much for wanting to avoid seeing who was screaming Luke's name'_, she thought. Lorelai looked at Luke and saw the redness in his cheeks that hadn't been there two minutes ago.

"Uh, I'll take you up so you can look around," he said to the woman. He waved her over and waited for her to enter the narrow staircase first before following her up. This was after saying a quick, "Be right back," to Lorelai.

"Okay," she'd said back with feigned comfort.

Lorelai's brows raised briefly as the word, 'wow!' resonated loudly in her head. She'd never really known Luke's taste in women because she'd only seen him with one woman. Rachel. Judging by Rachel, she figured he liked a classic beauty kind of look, but really, how much can you tell by one person?

The woman who had just gone up to his apartment would make Gisele Bundchen rethink her desire to go out in public. She'd make every woman in any room she entered break out the compact and make sure they were doing everything they could do to come off looking half as good as the beautiful stranger.

She wasn't young, at least not in the Luke-is-trying-to-get-his-groove-back kind of way. Lorelai figured her to be between 30 and 35. She had long black hair that she allowed to cascade down her back. Her dress was sophisticated, but still offered insight as to what was going on underneath. She had two subtle dimples that seemed to make every inch of her face glow, and it was probably a major source of whatever power she had over the opposite sex. When she walked, her hips swayed in a way that seemed natural, but would make a blind man place a book in front of himself. To put it mildly, if ever a wife wanted to put her husband to any kind of fidelity test, this woman would be the test, the extra credit, and the red marker used to grade it.

Lorelai contemplated whether or not she should leave. If they went upstairs, got a little carried away, and didn't come down for a half hour, Lorelai doubted she'd be able to stomach what she knew would be happening. But if she left now, then their time spent upstairs would not be known by her. She glanced at the clock and saw that a minute and a half had passed. _'How long does it take to find a friggin' bracelet?'_ she thought. Her face contorted with her inward inquiry. Two minutes passed and she found her heart had joined in on the loud ticking away of the seconds. At two minutes and forty-five seconds, she felt herself becoming angry.

Out of nowhere, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "LUKE?!?!" The volume surprised even her, causing embarassment to trickle down her entire body. The diner became quiet as all customers stared wide-eyed at Lorelai's back. She turned around and caught all of the eyes that were on her. "Sorry, guys," she said feebly. She swiveled back around, and conversation slowly picked back up.

The stairs creaked and Lorelai could hear soft laughter from the woman and Luke. The woman came down first and turned around to face him. "Thanks, Luke." She spoke low, but not low enough. "I know I already said this, but I had a wonderful time." Luke nodded and threw an awkward glance at Lorelai.

"Me too," he replied.

"I know," she said. "I'll see you around, okay?" She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

She walked past Lorelai. "Nice to meet you," she told her in passing, even though they had not been introduced.

Stuck for anything else to say, Lorelai replied, "Yeah, you too."

The woman smiled wider winking one eye at Luke before she floated out of the door.

Luke cleared his throat. "Did you call me?" he asked, breaking her of any thoughts.

Lorelai looked at him, surprised that he hadn't clearly heard her humiliating outburst. "Yes, I did call you. You were kind of taking forever," she said, trying to sound playful. It wasn't entirely working. In actuality, she was mad. It didn't matter to her that she didn't have a reason to be mad. The intense feeling of it was enough of a justification.

"I was only up there for a minute," he said distractedly as he worked.

"Try three. When you're running a business, you can't just go gallivanting around for minutes on end. I wanted to order some food. Who was I supposed to give my order to?"

"I told you I would be right back. What's wrong with you?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing is wrong with me, Luke. I just think that when you're at work, you need to _be_ at work, not entertaining...people."

"I was helping her find her bracelet. Entertainment sure has gone down since I was a kid."

"Your lackluster attempt at comedy has been acknowledged and...wait for it...wait for it..._dismissed_. Moving on." She shifted in her seat with agitation. Quiet filled the space between them.

"I thought you wanted to order," Luke reminded her.

Lorelai sighed in annoyance. "A burger and fries to-go, please," she said cordially as she stared down into her coffee mug.

"Coming right up," he said slowly, wondering the reason for her sudden attitude. He went into the back for a minute to start on her order. When he came back out, she was still looking down at her mug, a pout on her lips. She brought her eyes up briefly to him before returning them to the porcelain.

"So, who was she?" Lorelai asked timidly. She looked up and stared him directly in the eyes. She wore no expression on her face which was a little weird to Luke. He suddenly felt like he was on trial.

He looked down before looking back to her. "Her name's Marilyn."

"Marilyn? That's pretty," she said still looking at him.

"Yeah. I guess," he added shrugging.

She looked down to the countertop. "Are you two, uh, dating?"

He folded his arms and leaned back on the table that held the coffee machine. "Not really," he said like it was the first time he was considering it. "We kind of, you know..." He looked uncomfortably to Lorelai, "...went out last night, but it wasn't anything serious."

A small, leading smile appeared on Lorelai's lips. "Serious enough for her to have taken off jewelry in your apartment." She looked back to him immediately to gauge his reaction.

He raised and dropped his eyebrows as if to say, 'touche'. Lorelai was expecting him to become embarassed or defensive but that wasn't happening. He looked down to the floor and held that position for nearly thirty seconds. She just watched him, wondering if he'd forgotten she was sitting there. He finally lifted his head and rolled it around like he was in the middle of a yoga lesson. His eyes were closed.

She continued to silently watch him. Her eyes fell to his neck and shoulders which remained hidden under his flannel. They moved slowly down to his folded arms where various muscles were effortlessly being flexed. His rolled up sleeves allowed a perfect view.

She began to envision what a sex-Luke would be like. She'd thought of him before, but it was more of a relationship-Luke. She thought of what it'd be like to have him around to fix things all the time and how great it'd be to have around _Luke_, her friend who she enjoyed bickering with and being with, in general. She'd never consciously entertained a sex-Luke thought. Now, it was taking every inch of willpower she had _not_ to think of him that way.

She thought of how strong he looked and could almost see that strength and his usual intensity being redirected somewhere incredible.

When she finally managed to tear her eyes away, she looked down to the counter before bringing her attention back to his face. She was shocked slightly when she was met with his very ardent stare. She wondered if he'd been watching her the entire time. She was instantly locked in his gaze.

"Coffee, please?" A lady said as she took a seat at the counter. Luke straightened himself from the table and still held contact with Lorelai as he moved over to the customer. Lorelai actually felt a tingle somewhere she should not have been feeling a tingle. At least not from a look--a look from Luke. He may as well had been touching her. He looked away and focused on the newest customer.

Lorelai looked briefly to the customer before standing up and grabbing her purse. "I'll, uh, see you later, Luke."

He watched her leave. It occurred to him almost immediately that she hadn't gotten her food yet, but he chose not to say anything. He went ahead and let her have her quick escape.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai called Sookie upon leaving the diner. She told her that she wasn't feeling like herself (which was true) and Sookie insisted that she go home and sleep. That worked out well considering that was exactly what she planned to do.

She made it home at a quarter 'til two and hit the bed almost immediately. Her fluctuating emotions served as all the sleep-inducing medication she needed.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai woke up to the sound of the telephone.

"Huh? What?" She said lifting her head off of her pillow. Realizing that it was actually the telephone, she shook off her disorientation and picked it up from the nightstand. "Allo," she said sleepily.

"Mom, are you asleep?" Rory asked.

"Well, not anymore. I'm talking to my daughter who's currently making me more susceptible to becoming one of those people in 'Sleepwalker'."

"You know that movie had nothing to do with a lack of sleep, don't you?"

"Ahhh! See, if you wouldn't have called, I could have woken up on my own--all refreshed and ready for accurate, and appropriate referential humor."

"Mom, it's only eight o'clock at night. You have at least ten more years before you get to the drifting off during 'Matlock' stage."

Lorelai wiped sleep from her eyes. "Just ten more years? Man, that's a depressing thought."

"The truth hurts."

Lorelai yawned and sat up on the bed. "So, to what do I owe this ego-boosting phone call?"

"I just wanted you to know how my psych test went."

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. How'd my little Einstein do?"

"Well, I wouldn't quite put myself up there with Einstein, but I did pretty darn well," Rory said proudly.

Lorelai could hear her disguised glee over the line. "See, I told you not to worry. You were all--_'Mom, it's gonna be hard. The professor's relentless. I can't listen to your joke about the old man and his roaming cane right now; I have to study'_," she said in her over-exaggerated Rory voice.

"Well, all my studying paid off. I should blow you off more often," Rory teased.

"Ow-wuh!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Lorelai grunted in response. "Okay, well I just called to give you an update---"

"And, what a lovely update it was."

"...so, I'll you get back to sleep. The sun'll be up in ten hours. Don't let the bed bugs bite--though the bed bugs probably don't fall into bed until at least nine or ten. They're still vibrant."

"Such a comedienne. Sorry to kill the punchline, but I'm up now. I'm gonna shower and grab something to eat."

"Oh, cool. Tell Luke I said 'hi'."

Lorelai tensed up at the name drop. "Uh, yeah, Hon. I sure will." She changed subjects quickly. "Okay, tell your roommates I said the polite, obligatory, _'Hi, hope you guys are doing good even though I have no interest in you, just you life as it involves my angelic, perfect seed'_."

"Okay. Mind if I paraphrase?"

"Well...if you must," Lorelai said as if it was a sacrifice. "Kiss."

"Kiss _and_ hug. Ha! I win. Don't even try to top it. I have moved my knight to your king four. You can't move, so just lay down and take defeat like a man." Rory hung up leaving Lorelai chuckling on her end.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Once Lorelai had showered, she put on some pajamas and went downstairs and threw herself on the couch, reaching for the phone at the same time. She'd decided to order a pizza. She knew, even while on the phone, that she wasn't going to_ Luke's_.

Lorelai knew she wasn't much of a processor. She acted. Even if it would soon be regretted, she acted on things. Thinking was overrated anyway. That had been her mindset, at least prior to today.

Before she went to _Luke's_ again, she felt she had some things to work out. Lorelai wasn't sure why she reacted the way she had when Luke came downstairs. It was almost like she could see herself getting upset, but could do little to stop it. If she was witnessing it with someone else, she'd think without a doubt, _'That lady is so into him'_. As she thought back to the gorgeous lady that Luke had been with in the most intimate way, she almost felt like throwing something, preferably herself...off a cliff...that would not have stupid stairs to climb with stupid thin walls that's so easy to hear through.

That thought made her want to cry. She could not be falling for Luke. 'Maybe it's a territorial kind of thing', she thought. But that was a ridiculous thought as well. She'd never shown romantic interest in him, so why would she get defensive when he went out with women who did? When she considered that particular side of things, she grew angry with herself. It was a vicious circle of upset that she wanted to at least try to pick apart before seeing Luke again.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The next couple of weeks went by in a whizzing blur for Lorelai. She slept, work, and in her free time, watched old movies. She'd finally built up enough courage to enter _Luke's_ again. Well, it wasn't so much courage as it was a lack of willpower for his coffee. She'd only come in mid-day so there was less of a chance for running into any overnight guests coming or leaving. She and Luke weren't completely back on track, but they'd carry on conversation with familiarity. Things were different, though. Especially for her. She'd find herself checking him out at times. Not just his body, (though his butt got much of her attention) but even things like his voice would get admired on the sly.

He'd say something, and it'd be like an echo in Lorelai's head. The bass of his words would enter her ear drums and rumble through her brain in a way that allowed her to dissect it for various undertones. This was done subconsciously and everytime she caught herself doing any admiring at all, she'd shake her head in self-irritation before veering her thoughts to some off topic like mysogeny in modern rap music.

On one visit, she spent thirty minutes of her thirty-three minute visit staring in awe at his eyelashes. They were extremely feminine and when on a man--on Luke---translated into being nothing short of 'sexy'. Everytime he looked down, they were so apparent, she had to fight the urge to reach over the counter and run her fingers over them. After that occurrence, she had gone home and paced a hole in her living room floor.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she asked loudly. "I can not be this shallow." She kept thinking that she was only having these feelings because someone else--the most beautiful woman on the east coast possibly---was getting a part of him that she was not privy to. The territorial thought popped back into her head. "I may as well just go pee on him!" She said flopping angrily down on the sofa.

Because of her conclusion that she had irrationally reached, Lorelai went back to avoiding the diner. She had not been in there for two days, and in addition to missing his coffee, she began to realize how accustomed she had become to seeing him. She missed him, more than she wanted to admit.

When darkness fell, Lorelai ran a bath for herself before submerging every inch of her body into it. Her only inspiration to get out came when the water's temperature dropped. She climbed out, dried off and put on a white tank top with a pair of grey baggy sweat pants. She'd tied her hair up during her bath, and she just left the clip in as she went downstairs to start her night of lounging.

Before she hit the couch cushions, there was a knock on the door.

"Just a sec," she yelled as she shuffled lazily over to it.

She pulled it open, and Luke stood there with a large bag of food and a bag that Lorelai instantly recognized as being from the video store. She let out a heavy sigh. "Hi, what are you doing here?" She asked even though it was clear. Strange but clear.

He gave her a surrendering smile. "You want some company?"

She smiled in spite of herself. "How do you know I don't already have company?"

He looked past her into the house. "I don't." He waited for her to speak before adding, "I can leave if you want." She still didn't say anything but just stood looking at him. "Okay," he said turning to leave.

"Hey!" Lorelai called after him. He turned back tiredly, and she half-smiled. "What movies did you get?"

He suppressed a smile as he walked back up to the door. "Just a couple from each genre. They're newer, though. Everything's in color."

She stepped to the side and allowed him space to enter. "Well, there go the best movies," Lorelai pouted playfully.

He walked in and headed straight for the coffee table. Lorelai's eyes fell instantly to his ass, but she caught herself and looked away like nothing had happened. She suddenly felt like some sort of a nymphomaniac. The fact that Luke was evoking the quality didn't really make her nervous. If anything, it put her on a greater guard against her own instincts. Having any sort of instinctual desire toward Luke was very unchartered for her.

She closed the door and stayed facing it while she took a moment to calm herself back to some level of normalcy. She soon turned and joined him in the living room. "I was gonna order some Chinese food so what you brought better be up to par, Mister."

"Are you seriously comparing my food to oriental cuisine made in a place with 'pancake' in the title?"

"'Compare' is such an ugly word. Besides, once you've prepared your taste buds for stale rice and mui shu pork that could moonlight as chewing gum, there is very little_ going back_ room."

"Good thing I added cheese, then. Gives me an edge."

"It does at that." She grabbed the first container from the bag and sat down.

"Do you have anything to drink in here? I didn't bring anything."

"Beer?" Lorelai asked.

"Beer's good," he agreed nodding.

"Good. Bring back four so we won't have to get right back up."

He smiled at her though her attention was on her food. "I guess I'll be getting the beer," he said with feigned annoyance.

"And bring back some napkins, too."

He didn't move, and she looked up at him, eyes shifting as if asking why he wasn't moving toward the kitchen. "Did I forget to say 'Simon Says'?" He smiled and shook his head. "Do you need me to fire off a shot?" Again, he shook his head. "Well, unless you're waiting for instructions for the next leg of the race--"

"Oh, forget it," Luke said walking into the kitchen. "Have to go to through Hell and hot water just get a simple 'please'," he complained.

Lorelai chuckled and turned her attention back to her food. "So cute with your frustration," she said.

She thought she had said it too low for him to hear, but he came back with four beers strategically lined in his arms replying, "I am not cute," pronouncing 'cute' like it was verbal anthrax. He sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, would you prefer rugged? Sexy? Handsome? Or just plain lickable?" She was saying it in her very unique _Lorelai_ way that would suggest she wasn't even focusing on what was spilling out of her mouth. But Lorelai was very well aware of the fact that she was doing 'the thing'. The thing where you say what you really think while dressing it up in baited humor. Oh, the thing was getting done all right. With flare. It had bells and everything.

Luke's face flushed instantly. "I think I'll put in a movie, now," he said uncomfortably. He started to stand up with the bag of DVD's but was pulled back down by Lorelai.

"Hold on, Cowboy. The power of veto has not been exercised."

"Meaning?"

"I have not signed off on your selections. Bag please?" She held her hand out to him, and he passed the videos over to her.

"_'Dirty Dancing-Hirvana Nights'_?!" She looked at Luke with a shocked expression.

"I wasn't just picking for me. I had to consider your taste, too," he defended.

"I'll accept that," she said dropping that DVD and picking up another. "_'Radio'_, _'The Pianist'_, _'Fight Club'_, _'Chucky'_." She giggled at that. _'Boys Don't Cry'_, _'Saving Private Ryan'_, Luke?"

"What? I haven't seen it," he said lifting his shoulders.

"Okay, picture a prostheses convention. You see aaaaalll the limbless attendees?" He just looked at her. "Now, throw eight truckloads of blood all over them and everything else. You with me?" He still said nothing. "Okay, add a couple cool blood-squirting special effects. There, I just saved 3 hours of your life."

He rolled his eyes. "So, I guess that was a bad choice."

"No, not a bad choice. Just not a very good one," she appeased.

"I feel _much_ better. Thanks."

She pulled the final movie from the bag. "Annnd, _'Unfaithful'_.

He looked down at the movie and then back at her. "Yeah, I heard it was a pretty decent movie. You seen it?"

She shook her head. "Not really a Richard Gere fan. Clooney makes the pre-maturing grey thing look so much hotter."

Luke brought his hand up to his chest. "Oh my god, I was just gonna say."

Lorelai glared at him. "Are you mocking me?"

"A little _bit_. Now, put it in," he said waving her over to the TV.

"This first?" She asked holding up the movie.

"Why not? Unless you want to watch _'Saving Private Ryan'_. I hear it's real tame."

"_'Unfaithful'_ it is," she said rising quickly.

She put the movie in and joined Luke back on the couch. He had started eating his grill chicken sandwich. "Ready?" Lorelai asked as she held the remote. Since his mouth was full, he just nodded. She hit the 'play' button, and it played for about fifteen seconds before she paused it. "Can I ask you a quick question?" She said it so fast that it sounded like one big, eight syllable word. He nodded again before taking a swig of his beer. "What made you come over here?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Peace offering, I guess."

"A peace offering for what?" She asked.

"I don't know. You've been mad at me for something, so I just wanted to make sure we were good."

Lorelai looked down. "We're good. I wasn't mad at you; I was just kind of taking it out on you. It was just...stress...about the inn." She paused. "Thanks for caring enough to come."

He waved away her comment. "Enh, complete selfishness on my part. Since you've been gone, my coffee sales have dropped fifteen percent."

"Can't have that," she commented lightly. He gave her a lazy smile while looking toward the paused movie. She looked at the screen, too like she was getting ready to unpause it, but instead, she turned back to him and asked, (in what she hoped was a nonchalant tone) "So, do I have you for the whole night, or do you have a hot date?"

"I'm yours for the night," he stated matter-of-factly.

Her eyes shifted to the floor, disappointed that he'd managed to avoid the topic of his kanoodling partner. She recovered quickly and tried to rephrase it. "Okay, but if Marilyn calls, feel free to go. You're not being held under contractual obligation or anything." She forced a laugh, but it fell flat when she saw the humorless look on Luke's face.

"You don't want me here?" He asked.

"No, no, of course I do. I'm just saying that if duty calls then, I'll understand."

He looked away, still recovering from the hurt of her statement. "Well, relax. There's no _duty _to call. Marilyn and I are friends. We went on one date; I told you that."

"Didn't go well?" She asked wondering how many questions he'd answer before going into the patented Luke Danes' shutdown.

He released a sigh. "It went fine. It just wasn't long-term--mutual conclusion." Looking back to her, he asked, "Now, can we watch the movie, please?"

Lorelai worked to digest his words. "Sure," she said distractedly. But again before she pressed 'play', something else came to her. "One more thing," she said turning her body toward him.

"What?!" He asked, letting his frustration show.

"Calm down," she said soothingly. "I just wanted to give you the Gilmore house movie rules..."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

They watched the movie silently, both enthralled in the suspenseful plot. They were each positioned about a foot from their respective ends, placing them a few inches apart in the middle of the couch. That just happened to have been their distance when they'd sat down earlier, and neither had moved when the movie-watching began.

When the first sex scene came up, Luke began to shift uncomfortably before turning to look at Lorelai. She turned too, and they had a fleeting moment of awkwardness between them.

"You want me to fast-forward it?" Lorelai felt stupid for even asking that, considering they weren't ten years of age, but she could literally feel the tension staking claim in the air around them.

Luke worked to relax his body and appear carefree. "No need. Let it play."

"Okay," she conceded. She dropped the remote and returned attention to the screen. It wasn't that bad/graphic, so they each just kind of held their breath until it was over.

When the bathroom sex scene came up, Luke rolled his eyes at the screen and said a low, "Aw jeez," as if saying _'Are they trying to kill me?'_

Lorelai was suddenly wondering if an imaginary person had come into the room and turned up the heat. Because even in her tank top, she felt like she was experiencing desert temperatures. Luke brought a hand up to his hat and adjusted it before reaching down and rolling up each of his sleeves even further.

She looked over at him. "Are you hot?" She asked as if she was the perfect hostess.

He started to pull at his shirt collar. "Yeah, it's a little stuffy. You feel it?"

While he wasn't looking, her eyes drifted down to his lap. "Oh, definitely. I feel it," she said. She stood up quickly. "I'll go check the heat."

She found that the thermostat was only on 72 degrees, but she turned it down to 65 degrees before making her way back over to the couch. She saw that Luke had removed his hat and opened his flannel completely. She went ahead and sat down. "I turned the dial down a little. It should cool down in a minute."

"I doubt it," he mumbled.

Lorelai didn't hear his response. "Hmm?" she asked looking at him.

His eyes went wide. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if you wanted another beer."

"Sure," she said.

"I'll get it." He got up quickly and crossed between her and the coffee table with his front facing Lorelai. Her eyes were immediately on his zipper, and she noticed that he was a little less adjusted than he'd probably prefer to be. She suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to just stand up and tackle him to the floor. Common sense won out, though, and Luke made his way around her safely.

When he came back, he handed her a beer and took his seat beside her again. Though there was a lot of getting up going on, they'd each return to the same place on the couch, not bothering to take advantage of their respective armrests.

They both turned the bottles up and gulped quickly as if trying to intoxicate any naughty feelings. Lorelai's eyes squeezed shut as she drank, not used to the liquid flowing down her throat that quickly.

They hadn't paused the movie so it continued to play. When the scene came up when the characters hit the doggystyle in the stairwell, Lorelai had a firm grip of her bottom lip.

_'I think we get the damn point by now!'_ Luke internally screamed at the TV. He watched for a while longer. "Oh, that's it," he said. He reached for the remote that Lorelai had lying between them. But her hand came down over his.

"No, let's see how it ends," she said softly.

He looked fully at her with wide-eyes as his chest began heaving up and down noticeably. He looked at her and then looked down to their connected hands for a long moment before returning his expression to her face.

She looked in his face before also allowing her eyes to fall to their hands. Her breathing picked up as well. Her hand remained over his. _'Now or never', _she thought. Surprisingly, the 'never' got ruled out immediately.

Without looking to see what his expression would be, she gently lifted his hand before slowly rising and moving to stand in front of him. His legs were already spread, so she just stepped directly in between them.

"Lorelai," Luke said raggedly.

She swallowed and just shook her head to silence him. She took the hand that she was holding and ran both of her hands over it as if she was admiring its make. With an aching slowness, she brought his hand to her stomach and held it in place. She watched Luke.

His eyes closed and his mouth oped and closed. He started to move his hand over her front while Lorelai's hand acted as a dependable tour guide.

She lifted his hand from her body and drew in a breath before placing one knee on the outside of one of his thighs and slowly bringing the other to his other side. She looked him directly in the eyes, and his were already dark with passion. She still had not let go of his hand. She brought it up and spread his fingers, isolating the middle one. Bringing it to her lips, she gently sucked it into her mouth.

She nearly laughed at the myriad of shocked/pleasure faces Luke made as he studied his finger going in and out of her mouth. She may as well had been giving him lower oral stimulation because the feeling was closely paralleled.

He drew her body closer to his and moved to place his lips on her neck. She released a small moan but didn't stop what she was doing. He continued to kiss.

"You smell so good," he whispered into her ear.

"You taste even better," she said back. She finally released his finger, and Luke brought his head around to face her. He stared at her for a moment.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He said softly. She smiled shyly and dropped her head. He placed his finger underneath her chin and brought it gently back up. When her eyes locked on his, he added, "Inside and out."

He brought is lips to hers, and the passion was immediate. Lorelai felt as if she wanted to devour him whole, and this was shown in her kiss. She held nothing back as she kissed him with every ounce of passion she had ever experienced. Her tongue moved smoothly over his even through the intensity of her kiss. She didn't care if she suffocated from a lack of oxygen. She had never wanted someone so much in her life, and she did not want to break any connection to him, no matter how brief.

Their chests were pressed tightly together and Lorelai left him little movement. Luke started to moan loudly into her mouth, but she just kissed him harder before having no choice but to pull back. They both breathed like they'd just finished a marathon.

"Man, you're...gonna...kill...us both."

"Hmmm-mmm," Lorelai mumbled distractedly. She had started to suck on his earlobe.

He closed his eyes as she expertly worked on his ear and neck.

"You can slow down," he said breathily. "We...uh...damn...We have all..." She dipped her tongue in his ear. "Oh, forget it," he said turning and flipping her on her back.

Lorelai laughed hard as he attacked her neck and clavicle. "We have all night," she mocked.

"Oh, shut up," he said smiling into his kisses. He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her with as much intensity as she had kissed him with just moments before, pressing his crotch flush against hers.

"Upstairs?" Lorelai said breathlessly once Luke had pulled away.

He breathed heavily for a few moments. "Good idea." He slid his arm underneath her back and lifted her off of the couch. Stumbling and bumping into almost everything on the way, he ascended the stairs to her bedroom with her giggling the whole time.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

They had undressed quickly, both having had little patience for clothes and other barriers. Lorelai, only having dealt with the Chis-es and Max-es of the world, only had the regular sized condoms. They were always _more_ than enough. (**sorry, couldn't resist :-D**) Luke, on the other hand, required something a tad bit larger. Enter the gold-wrappered condom. The ultimate protection for the ultimate man.

If Lorelai had not been in such a blind state of horniness, she'd have taken time out to tease him for carrying, not one, but two gold condoms in his wallet.

When Luke entered her, she released a long groan, followed by a smile that seemed to suggest that she'd found Home. He tried to ration his length into her, but with each downward thrust, she'd push his ass down further until he was filling her completely.

When he was pulling out, he groaned before saying softly, "don't do that."

"D-do what?" She asked with as much awareness as she could muster.

"That thing... with your muscles." She smiled. "Not yet, anyway," he added.

"Okay," she said with a wicked smile.

He pushed back into her slowly, and she lost the smile. He knocked any evil intentions right out of her. "You.Feel.So.So.Good," she said, barely able to find her voice. She reached up and gently brought his lips to hers. He kissed her slowly as he increased speed below. Her nails latched onto his back and he grunted from the pain. It was drowned out, though, by Lorelai's loud, strangled moan that accompanied her intense orgasm.

He dropped his body onto hers and moved only his ass up and down as he almost dared her body not to react.

"If you keep...doing that..." There was a long pause as she allowed the pleasure to encompass her. "...then, I'm gonna do my...thing...and...and we'll both be..." She was cut off by yet another wave of bliss resulting from his close movements on her clitoris, coupled with his skillful strokes.

Once she stopped shaking, Luke lifted his head and smiled. "You were saying..." He kissed the tip of her nose.

She closed her eyes and started to challenge his thrusts with her own inward movements. "Wait..." he said. "I don't want..." Before he had a chance to pull away, he was gone. He grunted her name loudly and dropped his head weakly to her shoulder.

Lorelai started to chuckle. "Did I do that?"

"I told you not to do the muscle thing," he whined, still recovering.

She rubbed her hands over his back. "Did you? Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"I bet you are," he said doubtfully. He lifted his head. "That's okay, though. The first one's always weak."

"The first one?" Lorelai asked smiling so hard her eyes narrowed to slits.

He smiled down at her cockily, and Lorelai didn't know if she wanted to hit him or kiss him senseless. He looked down between their bodies and pulled out of her slowly. He gave her a slow, lingering kiss before pulling away reluctantly. "Yeah," he answered finally. "Give me a few minutes." He rolled over beside her and hugged her close. She smiled contentedly as she snuggled up close to him. "You want something to eat?" He asked her after a while.

"How did you know?" She asked him looking up at him.

"Because I know you." He kissed her softly on the forehead. "What do you want?"

She suppressed the urge to tell him she'd rather wait and have another helping of him because she _really was_ hungry. "I have some stuff for a sandwich. I'll just go--" She made a move to get up, but he pulled lightly at her shoulders.

"No, I'll get it. Just tell me what you want."

"Really?" She asked.

"For you? Definitely really."

"A girl can get used to this," she joked laying her head back on his chest.

"I hope so," he said softly. She stared up at him before leaning up and pressing her lips lightly to his. "Okay," he said, breaking the moment before it got too emotional. "Why don't I just surprise you with something?"

"Sounds good," she said, still looking into his eyes intently.

He gave her a shy smile and climbed out of the bed. He pulled his boxers on immediately since Lorelai started to cat-call out to him as soon as he was exposed. "I'll be back in a little bit." He walked to the door. "And this time, I want everything you have." He winked at her and she broke out in a grin.

"Same here, Daddy Long Stroke."

The cockiness dropped from his face and was replaced with ten shades of embarassment. He turned to leave the bedroom. "Hey, Luke." He turned back around to face her. She paused. "So, this is what this feels like, huh?"

His face showed confusion before slipping into an adoring look that was nothing short of angelic. "This is what this feels like," he confirmed softly.

She swallowed as a small smile played on her lips. "It doesn't suck."

He chuckled a little. "It doesn't suck at all." They shared a smile before he turned and left the room.

---The End---

**Loved it? Hated it? Let me know. Deuce up. (I said deuce up (like Usher); I'm sooooo cool.)**


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